Employee profiles

When Jhadyd Gonzalez completed his Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature at Las Villas Central University of Santa Clara, Cuba, he certainly hadn’t the slightest inkling he’d someday be working in a land of ice and snow!

It all began in 2000, in Cayo Coco, Cuba. “Because I spoke both English and French, I was able to get a job as a destination representative for Nolitours,” Jhadyd says. Although his knowledge of local customs certainly helped, his kindness and tact doubtless played major roles in his hiring.

“People skills are a basic competence,” says Jhadyd. “People have to feel they can trust us, because they often come to see us when they have problems.  Even though helping people can be stressful at times, it’s very motivating. There’s nothing more rewarding than being told by a customer that you’ve saved his or her holiday!”

For more than five years, Jhadyd took care of customers of Nolitours, then Transat Holidays, first as a destination representative, than as destination supervisor in Cayo Coco. In 2006, he totally changed beat and found himself in Montreal as Co-ordinator, then Supervisor, for all destinations in Central and South America, the West Indies excluding Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Even though he had always loved the “climate” at Transat, Montreal’s temperatures somewhat cooled his ardour. But because he gets to visit his destinations regularly, the northern winter seems a bit shorter and less of a hardship.

Neither does Jhadyd have time to get bored. “My work is extremely varied,” he says. “In addition to supervising the destination teams, I oversee budgets and take part in hiring and training representatives.”

Not to mention the management courses he takes at the Transat Academy, a program developed in partnership with Université de Sherbrooke. “It’s amazing to see the importance that Transat attributes to developing its employees’ skills.  The Company is even paying for my courses!”